1510 Giant Bear and a Giant Vine
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha heard that some amazing creatures had appeared on those planets, so they decided to go and check it out.

“I’m not going. I won’t go even if you beat me to death!” When Dragon Dou heard their plan, he shook his head vigorously. Though his surname was Dragon, a descendant from one of the Four Great Clans, his combat strength was no greater than any commoner, and had a cowardly personality.

Since Dragon Dou was not going, then they might as well give the matter a rest. Xia Fan had only casually suggested it. If Dragon Dou had really wanted to go, he would constantly be inconveniencing them to act, seeing how weak he was. It would have been rather troublesome if they still needed to protect him if danger reared its head.

Dragon Dou was very worried about Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha’s safety. After all, they were the strongest fighters under his command, and when the city became chaotic in the future, he would have to rely on the two to keep himself safe!

Thus, the silly child of the local tyrant stole plenty of precious treasures from his home and bestowed them upon Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha. Most of the things were nothing remarkable, but there was a pair of swords made of Styx alloy that were absolutely extraordinary.

Traveling Buddha had said that these two swords were something only someone as important as his grandfather was qualified to wield. Be it in terms of its strength or sharpness, Styx alloy was far stronger than Koro metal, and considered a treasure of astronomical value.

Xia Fan could not help but sigh. Sure enough, the Four Great Clans were loaded. Dragon Dou was a descendant from one of the four who had not received any special treatment from them, yet he was still able to give away something so impressive. Who knew just how many top-grade items there were inside the actual treasury of these Four Great Clans?

—

There were two main forms of transportation available to make their way to the fissioned planets. One was through fixed stargates, while the other was with a high-speed shuttle. The stargate would only reach planets that were quite a few years old, while the new planets that had been newly split off still needed a shuttle to reach them.

God Metropolis citizens would head over to these planets for adventure, calling their trips ‘trials’. A group of friends might go together, or the leaders from a clan would head up those expeditions, although there were a few that would do it alone.

Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha chose planet number 1437. The planet had just split up a year ago, and was presently inaccessible, so there were few adventurers there.

Taking a hovercar, they arrived near the Stargate to planet 1437. The two men showed their ID and very easily stepped through the Stargate, arriving at the other planet.

Stepping out from the Stargate, it felt like the planet was rumbling. A mountain range was gradually rising in the distance, and the terrain was changing every day with new mountains and basins, formed by amazing powers of nature.

There were also a countless variety of plants growing rapidly about them. A sapling yesterday growing into a towering elder tree today was a very common sight here on a newly formed planet.

—

Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha quickly made their way into the forest, where there were all sorts of fantastic beasts running about, such as huge snakes with two heads, saltwater crocodiles larger than whales, and vultures with wingspans over ten meters long.

Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan found these beasts to be very refreshing, but neither felt they posed any danger. Along the way, they encountered a pack of giant red-furred wolves. Their eyes were narrow, and they were five meters tall and very strongly built. The wolves attacked Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha, but they were very quickly sent fleeing with their tails between their legs after the two men beat them up black and blue.

Without even realizing it, the two of them strayed further away from the Stargate, and took a break beside a small river.

As they were eating some rations and admiring the view, they suddenly heard a startling roar at the same time.

This roar was very terrifying, ringing out for hundreds of miles in every direction, and they could sense a sort of dark energy coming from it.

Traveling Buddha turned to look into the valley where this roar originated from and frowned, “Sounds like a pretty big b*st*rd.”

Xia Fan did not reply, and merely nodded.

That was when Bright Pearl, who had been dormant for a very long time, suddenly awakened and said to Xia Fan, ‘I have a very strange feeling.’

Xia Fan smiled, ‘Whatever do you mean?’

The pearl was pissed, “Can you be a little more serious? I’ve never once joked around with you. As someone of the dragon race, there are few living things in the universe that can make me react, and this creature that let out that roar should be very powerful, and is a huge threat to plenty of living creatures.’

Xia Fan was curious. ‘Then how would it compare to you?’

The pearl scoffed, ‘What sort of joke is that? I’m a dragon, how could you compare me to some random beast in the wild? The reason why I warned you is because I can sense a strength in it that was similar to the Demonic Ants. Okay, I’m going back to sleep. If you’re fine, you should go investigate.’

—

Soon after Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha finished their meal, they jointly made the decision to head over and check out the source of the roar. Xia Fan sniffed the air as they made their way over, and sure enough, it was similar to the Demonic Ants: a very strange smell that contained the scent of smoke and fire, like a living creature that had been exposed to hellfire and crawled their way out from magma.

The location the roar originated from was a valley with steep rocky cliffs to both sides, the long, narrow path in the middle covered in a dense thicket of botanical life.

Xia Fan pushed past the branches and leaves in front of him and looked down into the valley from up high.

It turned out that the culprit was a brown bear!

This brown bear was impossibly huge in size. It stood a hundred meters tall, looking powerful and majestic: a single swing of its paw could probably level a small hill.

But the reason why the great brown bear had roared was not because it was enraged, or that it was trying to scare something, but because its life was currently being threatened!

Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha saw that a black tree vine with sharp barbs that was well over several thousand meters long had wrapped the giant bear up tightly in its grip at the moment. The roots of this vine extended into a cave almost a thousand meters high. The brown bear was covered in blood, and slowly being dragged into that cave. Everywhere it passed, a track of blood would be left behind, trees snapping around it.

“Oh my god. Just what strange plant monster is this? Could Duan Muheng’s Wooden Spring Vine even compare to this giant?!” Traveling Buddha gasped in astonishment.

Xia Fan frowned, “It’s not even a comparison, it’s just completely outclassed. Wooden Spring Vine is a control-type plant, while this Black Tree Vine might be carnivorous, intending to drag the giant bear into its cave to feed upon it.”

Traveling Buddha remarked, “Why don’t we kill this tree vine? Maybe that brown bear would be moved that we saved his life.”

Xia Fan rolled his eyes at Traveling Buddha. “What sort of idea is that? A creature must first have its own spiritual essence in order to be tamed, and this brown bear’s eyes are pitch black and filled with murderous intent. If you saved him, not only would it not show any sort of gratitude, it might even turn on you and send a slap your way instead!

“Enough with your nonsensical thoughts. I am actually somewhat interested in finding out how that tree vine would eat the brown bear. Let’s go down there and have a look.”

With that said, Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha used the cover from the bushes and trees to sneak in closer to that gigantic cave.

The two experts were very bold, since most people, forget getting near, would probably have run away in fright after witnessing such a horrifying scene.

But Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha were different. Not only were they high-ranked, they also possessed powerful special abilities. One was a speedster that was so quick that most would have trouble catching him, while the other had the impregnable defense of a Battle Buddha. Any creature would have great trouble trying to go up against them.

—

The two of them soon reached the cave entrance. Compared to the giant creatures, Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha were just insignificant little dots. Neither the giant bear nor the black vine took notice of their presence.

Crouched down by the entrance as they furtively watched the scene unfold before their eyes, they saw that the black vine was not only a thousand meters long, but there was still a large portion of it coiled up inside the cave. The thick stench of blood permeated the place, an indication of how many creatures the plant had eaten in its lifetime.

At the moment, the giant brown bear had been dragged into the cave proper, and must have known that it was about to die as it began to struggle even more furiously. The black vine was wrapped tightly around the beast and tightening around its neck. The giant bear went immobile in no time at all, most likely killed by strangulation.

Xia Fan made a hand signal to Traveling Buddha. The latter grabbed the former’s shoulder and the two darted forward, instantly crossing into the deepest recess of the cave and hiding behind a large rock.

In the murky darkness, they could see that the body of the black tree vine monster had taken root deep into the soil. It was seriously huge, having grown to at least seven to eight kilometers long. There were four vines that bore barbs along its body, almost like flexible claws of a monster.

Using the vines like saw blades, the black vine monster began to cut apart the corpse of the brown bear, rending its flesh into many pieces of meat that were still bleeding redly.

The show of the vine monster eating the brown bear was about to begin, and Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha were ready to witness this spectacle.

That was about when Xia Fan was startled, his nose twitching ever so slightly in the air. He had caught the scent of a human closing in from afar, and the human was not alone!

Xia Fan promptly signaled Traveling Buddha again, informing him that people were coming, while they continued to lurk in the darkness.